MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City ended Liverpools short stay at the top of the English Premier League and moved ahead of its title rival after Alvaro Negredo secured a 2-1 victory in their Boxing Day encounter. Kaka Jersey . Englands most potent attacking team quickly recovered after Phillippe Coutinho put Liverpool ahead in the 24th minute. Vincent Kompany headed City level seven minutes later and Negredos high shot was fumbled into the net by Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet on the stroke of halftime. "Thats the hardest game so far. Liverpool are a good team so its great for us," Kompany said. "Its a weird (title race) because all the teams started a little slowly." City ended the day as it started: A point behind the leaders. But Arsenal is back atop the standings, with City moving up a place to second and Liverpool dropping to fourth behind Chelsea. "I thought we were absolutely outstanding," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "(The players) had no help whatsoever from the officials. They were horrendous." Aggrieved that Raheem Sterling had a goal ruled out for offside and Luis Suarez was denied a late penalty, Rodgers questioned why a referee from the Manchester area -- Lee Mason of Bolton -- was given a match involving a Manchester team. Rodgers could face an English Football Association charge for calling into question the referees integrity and implying potential bias. "We never got any decision," Rodgers said. Despite the setback, Liverpool was only three points behind leader Arsenal going into Sundays match at Chelsea. City, though, remain the favourite to repeat its 2012 title triumph after its ninth straight home win to start the season. Manuel Pellegrinis side has beaten every team in the top eight apart from Chelsea, and has netted a league leading 53 goals in 18 games. Despite going up against the high-scoring Suarez, City was again the superior attacking unit and created all the danger at the start. Jesus Navas headed against the post after five minutes, Kompany missed the target with a header from Samir Nasris corner, and Yaya Toures shot was deflected wide. It wasnt long, though, before City goalkeeper Joe Hart was called into action in his second league match after being dropped for two months. Hart denied Suarez an 11th goal of the month when he blocked his free kick. But, after Raheem Sterlings goal was harshly ruled out for being offside while meeting Suarezs pass, Hart was beaten. Suarez flicked the ball through for Sterling to round Hart, whose goal was open for Coutinho to dispatch the loose ball into the net from a tight angle. The lead lasted only seven minutes. Kompany outjumped Martin Skrtel to meet David Silvas corner and his header first went past the diving Mignolet and then Joe Allen was powerless to stop on the goal-line. In a fast-paced game, City was at times exposed by the speed of Liverpools break. In the 40th, Suarez released Coutinho, who was denied this time by Hart. Harts counterpart, though, wasnt as assured between the posts. City broke through the middle, with Nasri and Navas leading the charge before feeding Negredo. The shot from Negredo didnt seem menacing but Mignolet pushed it looping over him into the net. "Im disappointed we shipped a goal from a corner and for the second goal, we have to manage the game better coming up to halftime," Rodgers said. "Thats an area we will look at, for sure." Liverpool, so devastating in December -- with 18 goals in four games -- couldnt produce an equalizer. Jordan Henderson struck over at the start of the second half from Suarezs layoff. Mignolet, though, wasnt beaten again, getting two hands on the ball this time when Negredo tried to chip him, and easily collecting a header from the forward. At the other end, Hart made a case for retaining his place in the City goal after error-strewn performances led to him being dropped in October for league matches. The England goalkeeper denied Glen Johnson before being alert to keep out Hendersons backheeled shot. Liverpools best chance of the half to equalize was squandered when Sterling met Suarezs cross but blazed over with the goal seemingly at his mercy. Suarez was denied a penalty late on when Joleon Lescott tugged on his shirt. "Im disappointed to lose," Rodgers said, "but the over-riding feeling is pride in my players." Fred Brazil Jersey . LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright decided to use a simple approach to break out of his two-game slump. Bernard Brazil Jersey . And they needed every bit of scoring they could muster. Malkin had a hat trick and the Penguins almost blew a four-goal lead before holding off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Monday night to clinch their first-round playoff series in six games.MONTREAL -- Eugenie Bouchard did everything she could to help her country. Bouchard won both her singles matches, including the clincher on Sunday, to power Canada to a 3-1 victory over Serbia in its Fed Cup World Group II tie over the weekend. In beating Serbias Vesna Dolonc 6-0, 6-3, the Montreal native gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie in front of her hometown fans at the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. "I think I played two solid matches, and I helped Canada," said Bouchard, 19. "Im very proud of that. The whole team was very excited all week." Bouchard agreed to represent her country in the Fed Cup despite her busy international schedule. On Monday, she hops on a plane to Doha, Qatar, where she faces American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the Qatar Open the following day. But Bouchard, whos represented Canada since 2011, thinks thats a small price to pay for wearing the Maple Leaf on her cheek, as she did over the weekend. "I fully embrace it. It comes with the job," she said. "This is where I want to be. I love playing for my country. I try to enjoy every moment when I play for Canada." On Saturday, Bouchard beat the No. 149-ranked Jovana Jaksic 6-1, 6-0 in a dominant performance to give Canada a 2-0 advantage, after her teammate Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., defeated Dolonc 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. Canada will now advance to the World Group playoffs, giving the team a chance to advance from the World Group II to a higher division that includes the worlds eight best teams. A draw on Tuesday will determine Canadas next opponent, and whether that tie will be held at home or on the road, when the Fed Cup resumes on April 19. Canadian team captain Sylvain Bruneau had nothing but praise for the rising-star Bouchard. "Shes very patriotic, and people need to recognize that," said Bruneau. "It wont be easy for her (in Doha), but she did it to represent her country. Shes always been there for us." Joining Bouchard (ranked No. 19 in the world) and 274th-ranked Wozniak on the Canadian team were Torontos Sharon Fichman (No. 112) and Ottawas Gabriela Dabrowski (No. 224). Fichman and Dabrowski lost to Serbias Jaksic and Nina Stojanovic 6-2, 3-6, (10-8) in doubles play on Sunday aafternoon. Ronaldo Brazil Jersey. Because Canada had already defeated Serbia in the tie, the match was simply a formality. After each team took a set, and with the 10-point tiebreak tied 8-8, Fichman missed her final two shots to hand Serbia the doubles triumph. But the story of the day was Bouchards singles match. Leading 5-3 in her second set, Bouchard sent the No. 117-ranked Dolonc the wrong way to secure the advantage. She then cemented the victory emphatically with an ace. "I was happy I could stay with her and fight," said Bouchard. "When it counted, I did what I needed to do." She needed less than 20 minutes to take the first set, surrendering just seven points in the process. But Dolonc put up a fight in the second set, breaking Bouchard in the first game. She then held serve to force a 2-2 tie. "It was a closer battle (in the second). She came up with some good points, and I had a few unforced errors," said Bouchard, who settled down after a number of uncharacteristic mistakes. "I tried to win one point at a time and stay in the moment. And that helped me." Bouchard went on to win four of the next five games to seal the victory. "The tempo was very high," said Dolonc of the 59-minute match. "There was constant pressure on me. I was too late all the time. It was really quick. It was tough for me to find my game." Bouchards victory meant that Wozniak could skip her singles match. "They deserved this win," said Serbian captain Dejan Vranes of Canadas overall victory. "Simply, they were the best. I wish them luck. They deserve to be in the World Group next year." Vranes team took to the court minus such established stars as Jelena Jankovic (ranked eighth in the world), Ana Ivanovic (No. 12), and Bojana Jovanovski (No. 41). While Ivanovic and Jovanovski are dealing with minor injuries, Jankovic recently chose to retire from international play. Bruneau doesnt think the absence of those great Serbian players diminishes what Canada did over the weekend. "These players played with all their heart on the court," said Bruneau. "They played for Canada, they played for themselves, and they played for the team. And they gave it their all." cheap jerseys from china ' ' '
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